Klaipėdos universitetas

Weapons and warfare played an important role in Baltic society. The aim of this article is to examine the weapons and weaponry of the Semigallians, to look at what weapons-related burial customs existed in Semigallia, and to compare them with those of the other Baltic tribes. The geopolitical situation of the Semigallians determined that weapons had a special importance. Certainly not all weapons were placed in graves. We do not find any arrowheads. Although we have found many weapons, nevertheless the weaponry itself was not very diverse. Only spears and close combat weapons, battle-knives, were placed in graves. Spearheads of several types were used. The battle-knives used in Semigallia had a very unique form, and, most importantly, they were placed in a grave in an order characteristic only of Semigallians.

This article introduces rosette-headed pins found at Pavirvytė cemetery (in the Akmenė district) in the rich female grave 138. Rosette-headed pins were quite well known in Semigallia. However, most of the ornaments in this grave are more typical of Curonian culture than of the Semigallians. Some decorative elements or ideas probably penetrated from Curonia to Semigallia at the end of the 11th century.